For the first time director Lee Daniels, producer of two challenging projects, Monster's Ball and The Woodsman tries his hand behind the lens. Mirren women play a murderer who has been diagnosed with cancer, and decides carrying out a final death assisted by Gooding.

Shadowboxer doubt is a dark movie - I think Prizzi's Honor, but with a very different tone - but Helen Mirren handles this' single ' relationship with tenderness and dignity. I thought the ending was not terribly suspenseful, and should have been. I kept trying to picture how a different and more experienced director would deal with him. A number of crew members were there for Q / A, including the director. Heck, even came to the Palestinian Authority in Philly (who prefer!) Wes Bentley was scheduled to co-star, but abandoned.

His role was filled by Cuba Gooding Jr., who managed to clear snow dogs of my memory. He is very good, playing very straight and cold. In the Q / A later talked about the differences between doing comedy and drama. He is carrying out functions that allow humor that come from the actions of the character - as in this movie - and not obvious comedy. From enjoying the laughter that his character is of the crowd in the selection, when his character was react to situations in the plot and not "trying" to be fun.This movie was pretentious and mediocre at best. I liked the performance of Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Helen Mirren, and a decent work Vanessa Ferlito (which I found difficult to enjoy when she appeared in season 3 of "24"). But the direction and cinematography are cloying and manipulative. There were all these hazy, fuzzy, slow motion images of falling leaves and sun glinting and naked bodies rolling around the bed or on the ground. I think the director is one of many contemporary , pedestrians filmmakers whose only means of representing emotion is a foreground of an actor emoting, and whose only means of showing intimacy between actors is a scene of sex. Eventually, however, although I admired Gooding's performance, I was tired of seeing the soft-focused, beefcake photograph of her naked or semi-naked body. And

writing sucked a lot, too. Not only was this other movie on ageing, dying murderer questioning their morals and the state existence of God, but the film constantly brought up plot points and character conflict that apparently had no interest in. Gooding What exactly is the relationship with Mirren? Is Gooding ? Is it anything other than a strange, incestuous, lover / child / boy-toy and business associate of Mirren? There were other points that needed to explore, but the film seems to have no problem forget, so I've already forgotten them, too. And there are other things too, as elements of the story that solely for the sake of convenience narrative. Like all the character played by Stephen Dorff. I still looking forward to the day when we got - fed films to be established at the outset that his villains are irredeemably evil sadists who deserve horrible fate that awaits in the last reel. But Daniels apparently no cree we have reached this point yet. Another inexplicable narrative convenience is the 5-6 years spent in an instant for the child in the film is suddenly about 7-8 years old. I think the only reason for this is so that the child is old enough to use a weapon well enough to emerge as the filius ex machina at the end of the film. Meanwhile, all other character, conflict, and the relationship in the film is in suspended animation , while the child gets old enough to be the little button budding man that eventually becomes.

guess that's one of my complaints. I think this could have been better film (still derivatives, but stronger) if they had allowed the Gooding character to be the main character in the film. But instead of revealing his character, all Daniels managed to do was highlight is his face stone, rock-hard biceps and cut the buttocks. I have not received anything near a meet a glimpse of what he did was, than cliches childhood trauma regarding their hit-man father. But even if that was the anchor point in his life, the film does not work Gooding show through it or even so far as matters to him. Apparently, the film that this pop-psych background is important as the film ends with the lives of Gooding echoing substitute for that child, but as I never know what Gooding children Meant to him, I really do not worry about what that might mean for the Anthony little monster that magically has learned to kill and fine with it.

My feeling is that this movie career to be important, who lost all opportunity to be "important" (ie, whatever) and the fair chance to be entertained. It could have focused successfully on Mirren, whether or Gooding, but rather that Flitter Mirren to Dorff Gooding to the doctor and Mo'Nique, etc. I am curious to see what happens when this movie comes out in the world (apparently in June). I can not imagine that it is a great release, but the art house circuit compares very unfavourably to films that are better targeted and better writing.Download ShadowboxerSee also: Crime: Ransom